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Street Fighter EX3

When Arika took on the take of fleshing out what is arguably Capcom's most well-known 2D character base, some people balked.

Author: Sam Bishop

Published: June 30, 2000

When Arika took on the take of fleshing out what is arguably Capcom's most well-known 2D character base, some people balked. Years of revisions and redesigns had sculpted the Street Fighters animations into some of the most detailed of any 2D game ever. How could someone possibly take that hand-drawn, combo-laiden, masterpiece and translate it into 3D?

Well Arika, fueled by the Street Fighter series' creator, did just that. The Street Fighter EX series successfully transferred all the action and animation from the 3D series into a pseudo-3D world. Characters still only move left and right (no strafing here, kids), but a new, linked combo system was devised that allows for massive, smoothly transitioned supers. It's not for everyone, but if you're willing to spend an hour in the game's training rooms, you'll be pulling them off in no time.

Street Fighter EX3 marks Capcom's first foray into the PlayStation2, and if this is a sign of what's coming out of the development houses around the company, maybe they should stay clear. Just about everything in EX3 feels like a last-ditch effot, as if Capcom rushed to make the launch date. From the player models to the nearly flat backgrounds, EX3 is drab as can be.

Don't get me wrong, the EX series gets a serious kick in the balls thanks to the 128-bit power of the PS2, but fancy effects and nice lighting can't mask the crappy models and shoddy background work. There's also a serious slowdown whenever there are more than 3 characters on screen. This is unacceptable, folks, and given the massive power held within our lovable black monolith.

Fortunately, if you've liked the control and combo system of Street Fighter EX+A, you'll find plenty to love. Nothing has changed about the combos or moves list, and with the addition of new characters the fighting has been thickened up quite a bit.

All of the music from the EX series has been transferred over, and sounds great on the new system, as do the sound effects, but there's nothing new here.

All told, Street Fighter EX3 is a perfect example of what companies shouldn't do when sending a game to the PS2. Sorry, Capcom, try again.